The Great Dragon
by CobaltForge
Summary: A great war to decide the future of Magvel has drawn to a conclusion. For one Manakete, though, the struggles have only just begun. War is one thing she's overcome, but what is there to be done about finding herself in a world completely removed from her own?
1. Chapter 1

The manakete awoke, but no longer was she in the Darkling Woods.

She took in her surroundings in terror. Where was she? Where was Saleh?

It was night, and it was wooded. Mushrooms of various sizes grew among the bases of tremendous trees. Somewhere nearby, she heard some sort of voice. Otherwise, the night was eerily silent.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she rose.

Her name, Myrrh. Known as the Great Dragon to some, she was a manakete of over a thousand years. Even in her humanlike form, she had draconic golden wings that complemented her violet hair.

She was part human and part monster, in this way. This made her both, and yet neither. She did not truly belong to either group; she was too kind hearted to be a monster, but too powerful to be a human.

Trembling under the stars that were peeking through the treetops, Myrrh cautiously flew mere inches off the ground toward the voices she heard. She noted that she still had her Dragonstone, thankfully, allowing her to transform into a full dragon at any point. She would still have to save it for emergencies, though, as its use was limited. Still, her wings even in her human form brought her the utility of flight, which was useful.

These woods were strange and new to her, but somewhat familiar. They still retained the same feeling the Darkling Woods had to her, somehow.

The sound grew louder, and she identified it as a female voice. It was not anybody she knew, unfortunately - that much she could tell.

She had not traveled very far at all from her starting point when she came upon a clearing in the woods. It was filled with trimmed grass, and in the middle stood a building.

It was certainly a house. The voice could be heard even through the apparently thin walls, but she could not make out exact words. She drew closer, seeing a window she could look in through.

As she came up to it, she perceived another voice. This one, also female, was softer and more composed than the first, which she now understood clearly. The one with the loud voice seemed to be boisterous in nature, speaking rather fast. Focusing more on their conversation, the second came off as reserved and collected. Despite the drastic difference in tone and attitude, Myrrh could tell that they were on good terms, whatever their relation.

Myrrh decided not to linger at the window any longer. She figured that it would be better to hope they were friendly and give her directions, because she was horribly, horribly lost.

"Where in Magvel am I…?" Myrrh murmured to herself as she walked around the house, looking for a door.

On the opposite side of where she started, she found it. The door, and truly the whole house, was rather simple in design, but not plain. It had its own character to it, its own simple grace. Myrrh thought it was a nice house.

Tentatively, Myrrh knocked on the front door, quietly at first. When she did not hear a response, she put more force behind her knocks to get the attention of whomever was within.

After a few more moments, the door swung open.

Standing there was a human-looking girl with blonde hair and eyes that seemed ochre. She was rather tall and appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties to Myrrh. Her clothes were a mostly blue dress with white sleeves and red ribbons, a white shawl, and a red band in her hair that didn't seem to do anything practical and was instead there for appearances.

"Who are you?" she asked, scanning Myrrh. Her voice was the more quiet one she heard before.

"...I'm Myrrh."

Someone else walked up behind the tall girl. She was shorter, and stood on her toes to look over the taller one's shoulders at Myrrh. Her clothes were black and white, and she wore a big hat with a white ribbon on it. She was also blonde, and had a similar eye color to the taller one, but a bit brighter in hue.

"Some kinda youkai, huh? Never seen her before," The shorter one commented.

The taller one glanced back and sighed. "Have some tact, would you? She's probably lost or needs help." Turning back to the manakete, she said, "Please, come on in. There's room for you to sit, Myrrh."

Myrrh followed the two to a living space, with a couch and a few chairs set up. She noticed that there were small figures flitting about in the house, that appeared to be dolls.

After the other two sat, she followed. She clutched her Dragonstone very tightly, thanks to her nerves at this new situation.

"I'm Alice Margatroid," the taller one said pleasantly, "the Seven-Colored Puppeteer. This is - "

She was cut off by the other one, pointing a thumb at her own chest. " _I_ am Marisa Kirisame, the Ordinary Magician. And I am way cooler than her!"

"Ah, I'm Myrrh… are you both humans?"

Alice shook her head, but Marisa spoke. "I am. Alice isn't, though. She's a magician youkai. Speaking of, what kinda youkai are you? You've got those cool dragon wings."

Myrrh looked confused. "Youkai…? I am a Manakete. You could say I'm a dragon that normally takes a humanlike form."

Alice and Marisa seemed surprised. "That's interesting, for sure," the latter remarked, "but you don't know what a youkai is?"

"Ah, no." Myrrh responded, unsure.

"Okay, that's weird. I don't know if you were born yesterday, or something, but…"

Myrrh decided to interrupt. "I'm actually over a thousand years old, plus a few hundred years. Manaketes just age very slowly."

Alice, who had been silent up to that point, spoke up again. "Something tells me you don't know where you are."

Myrrh nodded, pleased to have her plight understood.

Alice continued. "I thought as much, with you not knowing what a youkai is despite being one. You are in the Forest of Magic in Gensokyo, the Land of Fantasies. And a youkai is any sort of monster or being that feeds off of humans, whether it be actually eating them, or absorbing emotions, or what have you."

"Where is this in Magvel? I've never heard of it, but I don't leave the Darkling Woods much, either…"

Alice and Marisa gave Myrrh blank stares. "Magvel? Darkling Woods?"

Distress was starting to set in for the Manakete. "I'm not in Magvel anymore?! Then how did I get here while I was asleep?"

The other two looked at each other, before speaking in unison. "Yukari."

* * *

"Tell us about yourself, Myrrh." Alice had given everyone a cup of tea and was sipping her own.

"Well, I'm a Manakete, but I already said that… I was known as the Great Dragon where I came from. I look like a normal human, plus the wings, but I assume a completely draconic form when I tap into my Dragonstone. Umm… That's how I fight."

"Oh? You fight?"

"Yes, but only when I transform, not like this. I don't really like talking about it, though. Monsters are one thing, but having to kill actual people…"

There was silence in the room with the unexpected revelation. Alice and Marisa did not think for a moment that Myrrh would have such experiences, with how demure she was acting.

Marisa broke the silence. "Well, enough of that talk. You say you can fight? Let's have a spell card battle, right now! That way, there's no dying!"

Her attempt at lightening the mood earned her nothing but an unamused glare from Alice and a confused look from Myrrh.

"She doesn't know what spell cards are, Marisa. Do you want to fight without them and incur Reimu's wrath?"

"Hmph. Can't we just teach her?"

Myrrh began to tune out the conversation as it devolved to bickering between the two. There was already light outside, as she looked out a window.

In this world, she felt magic in the air, stronger than Magvel. She sensed incredible innate power from the two also in the room, and it astounded her. Not even Saleh felt like that.

Her attention shifted to the dolls performing menial tasks - cleaning surfaces, washing dishes, and the like. They moved so fluidly that they seemed to be alive, and she wondered how they were animated.

Strangely enough, while this world was different than her own, she did not feel entirely out of place. The other two seemed to accept her for what she was, and she appreciated that. That sort of feeling was not so easily come upon where she was from.

"Hello? Myrrh? Do you hear me?"

"Oh! I'm sorry." Myrrh snapped back to attention as Marisa waved a hand in front of her face.

"We were saying we should probably take you to the Hakurei Shrine. Figure Reimu might have a clue about how you got here, with her role with the Barrier and all. Plus, she knows Yukari better than the rest of us."

"Ah, alright, if you think that's best," Myrrh said, softly.

* * *

Reimu, as it turned out, was not in a good mood as Marisa, Alice, and Myrrh arrived at the shrine.

"Idiot fairies with their stupid pranks!"

The shrine maiden with her brown hair and red and white uniform was stomping over to where she knew the three fairies lived, a large tree that wasn't technically on the shrine grounds but was nevertheless close in proximity.

Before she could rush off though, she caught sight of the trio and sighed. "Not a good time… wait. Who's that?" Her expression changed from unenthused to inquisitive upon laying eyes on the Manakete.

"That's what we came to talk about," Alice said, clearing her throat. "This is Myrrh, a Manakete."

"Mana-what? I've never heard of that sort of youkai."

Marisa took a chance to inject herself into the conversation. "Yeah, it's pretty weird. She's kinda, like, half-human, I guess? She's all dragon, but looks like a person. She uses a rock to transform into a different form, but we haven't seen it yet. The interesting part is, she doesn't know what a youkai is, and she claims to be from a place called 'Magvel'. Must have drifted in from the Outside World, so I thought, but…"

Reimu had certainly taken an interest in the newcomer. "There's no way. Any youkai that's left in the Outside World has to know what they are. And I get a lot of people from around the world, thanks to Yukari, and none of them have mentioned a 'Magvel'. Is there some other realm like Makai that I haven't heard of?"

"Beats me. I just think it's interesting. Wonder if you noticed her coming in?"

"No, I didn't. Nothing has been out of the ordinary these past few days."

"Then doesn't it sound - "

"Yeah, like Yukari. She normally brings humans in, though. Not sure what she has planned for 'Myrrh', when she imports humans for food."

Reimu struck a thinking pose, and then paused. "Wait, shouldn't we ask her herself?"

All eyes turned to Myrrh and she suddenly felt put on the spot, exposed.

"Umm… I don't know how I got here. I was just asleep, while I was traveling with Saleh. When I woke up, I was in some woods that I didn't recognize. I heard someone's voice nearby, and I walked towards it and found a house. Alice and Marisa were inside."

Reimu sighed. "Sounds like a classic Yukari move, alright. I'll try and contact her, but you know how she is.

"Anyways, Myrrh, are you able to fight?"

Myrrh opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the louder Marisa. "She said she can, but only when she transforms. In this state, she can't. 'Course, she doesn't know what spell cards are, either."

Reimu rolled her eyes. 'Maybe let her describe what she can do, rather than putting words in her mouth."

Marisa tried to formulate a retort, but decided against it.

Myrrh shyly spoke again. "What she said is right. But, the Dragonstones I use for transformation are not durable, and run out of the magic power I draw on after so many uses. I don't know if this world has anything like this…" she showed her tool to the others. "...If it doesn't, I'll have to use it very sparingly, because it's the only one I have on me. I haven't used this one at all, so its power is at its maximum, luckily."

"Interesting," Reimu mused. "I wonder if she can use danmaku without transforming. She does have latent magic ability, even in this form. I can sense it."

Alice shook her head. "If what she said is true, her magic only activates once she's transformed. Even using danmaku would likely only be possible in her altered state."

Marisa looked at Alice with curiosity. "How come you know that about magic? I don't know anything about that."

Alice smirked as she glanced at the human magician. "When you spend your time _studying_ various forms of magic instead of looting and thieving, you come across a wealth of knowledge. In this case, I have read case studies on similar people, who can only use magic when in a certain form. They weren't dragons, but my point stands."

Marisa grumbled to herself at this and crossed her arms, defeated.

"I'm sure this is all overwhelming for you, Myrrh," Reimu said, addressing the Manakete, "so we will try to help you fit in. There are a few rules here in Gensokyo that you'll have to know, until we figure out how to get you back to where you came from… if you'd still like to return, when we do."

"Alright, thanks." Myrrh was unsure of what she thought of the idea of staying in Gensokyo. It wasn't like she would be leaving much behind in Magvel, anyways. Saleh accompanied her at times, but mostly she stayed isolated in the Darkling Woods.

Her thinking was interrupted by a clicking sound she didn't recognize from anything she'd ever heard before. She turned to the source of the sound to find a tall black-haired woman whose clothes were mostly white..

"Aw, don't mind me. I'm just taking a few pictures, for now. Act natural!"

"Aya, not the time," Reimu chided with an exasperated look on her face.

"What? It's not every day you see a new youkai enter Gensokyo! This is newsworthy stuff if I've ever seen it!"

Alice sighed. "She's shy. You're going to overwhelm her with questions, and that wouldn't be good for her right now."

Myrrh remained silent. She did not really appreciate the others speaking for her, but at the same time, she was indeed a little anxious, meeting so many new people in rapid succession.

"Aww, I promise I'll be gentle." Aya smirked with glee.

Reimu gave out a sigh that was much louder than really necessary and walked away. "Okay, you've all held me long enough. Those three idiot fairies are really asking for it this time. They took every spare bow I own!"

"How many is that?" Aya asked.

"Oh, I've seen her collection!" Marisa said, giddy to be spoiling a secret of Reimu's. "She's got at least twenty of the _exact same_ bow! Talk about dedication!"

Reimu glared daggers at Marisa before slouching and walking away.

"Anyways, Miss Newcomer, could I ask you a few questions about yourself?"

"I guess," Myrrh nodded.

"Wonderful! Alright, what's your name?"

"Myrrh."

"Uh huh. Do you have a surname, or…?"

Myrrh shook her head. "I don't. Not anymore."

"Not anymore? Is there a story here?"

"...I don't like talking about it."

"Well, you don't have to go too deep into it, but it would be very helpful if I had a second name for you."

Myrrh felt bothered by this Aya's prodding, and sought to change the topic quickly. "No. Just Myrrh. Nothing else to it."

Aya frowned a little but continued on with the interview, asking questions Myrrh had already answered before.

* * *

Reimu had returned with a large stack of bows that she clumsily tried to keep hidden from Alice, Marisa, and Myrrh, who had lingered at the shrine after Aya concluded her interview. She rushed inside as fast as she could and hurried back out to meet the rest of them.

"Umm, I'm hoping this won't be bothersome, Reimu," Alice began when she deemed Reimu was paying attention, "but I was hoping you could house Myrrh. I would take her on at my home, but there isn't much room for guests. I know you have youkai over all the time, so I figured it would be alright."

Reimu grunted, trying to sound frustrated, but it was obvious to Alice and Marisa that she was really indifferent, and maybe even a little hopeful she could get to know the Manakete better.

"That's a yes!" Marisa said, laughing.

Reimu waved her hand. "It's not as if there'll be any visitors for her to scare off, with my luck. Whatever."

Marisa and Alice looked at each other, and then turned to Myrrh.

"Alrighty! See ya later, Myrrh. Have fun with Reimu!" Marisa looked as exuberant as ever as she mounted her broomstick - Myrrh was still trying to figure out how that worked - and flew off. Alice sighed and followed.

"They're in a hurry," Reimu commented.

She turned to Myrrh and smiled. "Alright. I said I was going to teach you the rules, so let's get started. It's pretty simple and shouldn't take long, but we should probably still sit down. Follow me."

Myrrh figured whatever Reimu would have to say was important, so she silently abided by the suggestion and trailed Reimu into the Hakurei Shrine.

After a few minutes, Reimu brought some tea out for the two of them, and sat down across from Myrrh at a kotatsu.

"Alright. It is very important that you know the rules of Gensokyo, since you're stuck here for the time being. As a youkai, this place is made with your kind in mind, as a sanctuary. This means that not only are there all sorts of monsters, demons, and what have you, but also humans for them to control.

"Youkai need humans for their fear, so there's a village full of regular people here. However, they are off-limits. No youkai, or human for that matter, can kill them without being punished themselves.

"The punishment is equivalent to the act itself. That's the most important rule of Gensokyo for you. But when in doubt, you should obviously default to mercy."

Myrrh looked uncomfortable. "I don't think it'll be a problem…"

"Good. Here's the next part. Conflicts in Gensokyo are resolved with spell cards, which is a non-lethal form of attack that can be based on magic, faith, items, or other things. This is to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Now, sometimes, we overlook these rules, but only in very special cases, such as true exterminations, or personal fights between Kaguya and Mokou. You don't have to worry about that."

Myrrh didn't seem to be struggling to absorb this information, so Reimu continued, mildly surprised she wasn't overwhelmed.

"Pretty much everything else is fair game, though. We are very relaxed with rules, really. People tend to solve their own problems around here. For instance, Marisa is a notorious thief. But if someone really wants their stuff back, they aren't going to go to some authority and ask them to handle it. If they're strong enough to take it back from Marisa, they'll go do that. If not, they can kiss their stuff goodbye. That's how it goes here."

"That's really different to where I'm from," Myrrh commented. "In Magvel, some places have really harsh laws. I heard that in Jehanna, the punishment for theft is having the person's hands cut off."

"Hmm…" Reimu thought for a moment. "That does seem very… restrictive. I mean, my shrine collapsed once, and the perpetrator got beaten in a spell card fight for it. But that's what she wanted! It was basically a slap on the wrist."

Myrrh couldn't help but giggle. "It sounds like you need to be a little stronger when you punish people. To stop them from doing anything wrong."

Reimu waved her hand and shook her head. "Too much work, and they're too stubborn to listen anyways. Not worth it, really."

"You remind me of someone I travelled with once. He was duty-bound to a princess, but he hated it and was very lazy. His name was Rennac."

"I'm not lazy! I'm just efficient. I don't spend my time on pointless endeavors."

Myrrh was about to speak again, but Reimu cut her off. "Anyways, that about covers the important stuff. I told you it would be short."

"Ah, but Reimu, you forgot to mention the most integral part of Gensokyo's continued existence. What an obvious error."

The room seemed to darken around Reimu and Myrrh, before coming to a near pitch black. Myrrh tried to open her mouth to speak, but found that she couldn't produce a sound, nor could she move the rest of her body. She was stuck in place.

From the darkness, dozens of large, unblinking eyes with red pupils emerged. At first they seemed to be "looking" at random directions, but in an instant they all snapped to Myrrh.

"Our guest in this place deserves a fuller explanation, wouldn't you say?"

The voice surrounded Myrrh, and yet seemed focused entirely on her. She could not locate an origin to it.

The eyes seemed to be glowing now, and still their piercing gaze shot through the Manakete. She had seen many things in a millennium and two-hundred some years, but never before was she as unsettled as she was at that point.

"She has a right to know the thing that will never let her return to the place she came from."

All of the eyes started fading into the shadow, until there were only two left. They were even with each other, and unlike the others, they were a deeply disconcerting golden color.

The eyes reached out of the darkness, and with them came a face, and then a body. The shadows collapsed into the form of a woman in a long dress, with long blonde hair and a white mob cap.

"The Great Hakurei Barrier. My most splendorous creation. A way to make the perfect sanctuary… or the perfect prison. It is the basis of my Gensokyo, my world."

Reimu and Myrrh became unfrozen, and felt numb after the experience.

Reimu did not seem disoriented, though. "How long did it take you to come up with that entrance, Yukari?"

The woman batted her eyes at Reimu, as if she was pretending to be shocked at being ridiculed. "My, even all that didn't bother you one bit. You have an iron constitution, Reimu.

"You, on the other hand, are scared out of your wits. Poor thing." The woman produced a fan from nowhere and covered the lower half of her face with it, looking at Myrrh.

"Who are you?" Myrrh asked, bewildered.

"So forward! And here I thought you were the shy type. I am Yukari Yakumo, the one who brought you here."

Reimu looked irritated. "You have the displeasure of meeting her, Myrrh."

"Aww, you like me, don't you, Reimu?"

"More like I've known you long enough that I've learned to tolerate you."

Yukari did not respond; instead, she turned back to Myrrh. "I have brought you here, Myrrh. Do you have any questions for me?"

"...Why did you make me come here?"

Yukari shrugged and put away her fan. "What, should I not have? You aren't leaving much behind, as I understand it. It seemed interesting to see how one of your kind would fare in Gensokyo."

"How much do you _know_ about me?" Myrrh could not help but start to feel angry at this person.

"A decent amount, I'd say. Likely more than anyone but you yourself."

"What?"

Yukari smiled knowingly. It was not a pleasant expression, though. "How about an example? Would that suffice?

"I saw your parents die. Your true ones, I mean. That was a long time ago for you, so you've moved on. But another, more recent death still rings in your ears, does it not?"

Myrrh tightly gripped her Dragonstone. This Yukari was seriously rubbing her the wrong way, and quickly.

"Yukari - " Reimu tried to interject, but Yukari was faster.

"That's no good, Myrrh. It wouldn't be pretty if you tried to fight me right now. You don't even have a spell card, so I'd be obligated to use my full strength as well."

"What does that mean? You don't look armed to me."

"Armed? Please." Yukari grinned in a manner befitting a psychopath. "I can manipulate boundaries. How difficult do you think it would be for me to alter your boundary of life and death? I'd imagine much easier than making an entire alternate world, which I believe I've said that I've done.

"So to show you that I don't actually want to do that, here's a gift. Give me your Dragonstone for a brief moment."

Myrrh was seemingly frozen in place in surprise and didn't show any signs of response, so Yukari sighed and opened one of her gap portals between the Great Dragon's hand and the gem it held.

The Dragonstone fell into the gap and out another one above Yukari's waiting palm. Myrrh, not aware of the trick, looked around madly for her weapon, but could not locate it until Yukari spoke.

"I said I can manipulate boundaries. Allow me to break this one."

Yukari closed her eyes for a moment, and the Dragonstone began glowing, nearly blinding its owner. After several seconds, the light waned and Yukari handed it back to Myrrh.

"You can now use this Dragonstone infinitely, as I have eliminated the limits of its magical power. Take this as a sign of goodwill."

Myrrh weighed the stone in her hands, trying to identify what all had changed. She looked up to ask, but found that her benefactor had vanished.

Reimu sighed. "Looks like your sanity survived your first encounter with Yukari. Lucky you."

Myrrh had more questions than she could put into words.

"She's a bit of a mastermind. It's impossible to tell what she's planning, so it's useless to even think about it. I've given up on trying to make sense of her actions, and you should too."

"You know her?"

"Unwillingly. I confronted her over a problem she caused, and then she assisted me a few times in resolving separate incidents. I wouldn't call us friends, though. She does as she pleases with anyone she wants, including me. Everything and everyone is part of a plan to her, including me."

"So is she good, or evil?"

Reimu laughed a little to herself at Myrrh's question. "You shouldn't think in such broad terms of 'good' and 'evil' in Gensokyo. Nobody is inherently either. Except Seija, but she's always the opposite of how things normally go. It's her nature, or whatever.

"People here are as good or bad as you perceive them to be. To me, Yukari acts in the interest of this place, so while annoying, I'd consider her a positive force. However, if you asked, say, Eirin? She'd probably tell you Yukari sticks her nose into too many places it doesn't belong."

"What about you?"

Reimu considered this for a moment. "I think most people would say I'm a good person. The villagers seem to have a lower opinion of me, though, or else they'd come here more often."

Myrrh didn't have anything else to say, and she found herself a little tired. It was only natural; anyone would feel a bit overwhelmed at waking up in another world and meeting some of its crazier denizens.

"Okay… I'm a little tired. Do you have somewhere to sleep?"

Reimu shook her head. "I don't have a bed, if that's what you mean. You can always sleep where you are, though."

"Okay. I'm used to sleeping in uncomfortable places, so I don't care either way."

Myrrh shifted so she was laying down instead of sitting, and began to let herself drift to sleep. Reimu smiled at the girl as she did so.

* * *

She awoke to a conversation between Reimu and a guest.

She was very tall, and had pink hair. One of her arms was wrapped in bandages or something similar.

She groggily listened to their conversation, but was too tired to focus on the specific things they were saying.

The general direction of the conversation seemed to be Myrrh herself. She picked out a few things, but the details eluded her. There was something about heaven, and then a mention of another dragon.

Neither seemed to be aware Myrrh was awake, and she was still tired, so she was content to maintain her appearance of rest to hear the talk of her.

Reimu seemed to be responding to a question from the other one. "I could figure out a way."

"It's always about that with you. Here you have a divine being, and you're going to use her as a cheap attraction for a few days?"

"That's not what I mean!"

"I say she should be held in the same regard as Aunn. She's likely a sort of protective deity; dragons are representative of the gods, after all. It would be wrong to try to use her for such… worldly things."

"Are you saying she's a divine blessing, or something?"

"Perhaps. I don't know what you've done to deserve that, though."

"Hello? How about taking on a god of poverty and misfortune because nobody else would? Even though it made my situation harder?"

The pink-haired one thought for a moment. "I don't think it's a reward, then. You didn't actually choose to house her, remember? So you didn't do anything good intentionally. Besides, wouldn't the residual of her ability still exist here? So you shouldn't be getting any good fortune."

Myrrh didn't really catch the flow of the conversation very well, because she didn't understand half of what the two were alluding to. She did know it was mostly about her.

Uncomfortable, she shifted in her position, trying to be subtle about it. However, the pink-haired one still noticed.

"Ah, she's awake."

Reimu looked at Myrrh, who had realized she was exposed. The Manakete slowly rose to a seated position, studying the tall pink-haired woman.

"Hello. I am Kasen Ibaraki. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Myrrh."

"Umm… me too."

"I'm a hermit residing on Youkai Mountain, and a friend and ally of Reimu's."

Reimu nodded. "Good with animals, too. I think you'll like her, even if she gets on my nerves sometimes."

"So, a Manakete, hmm? I've never heard of that title before. I'm not unaware of the concept transforming dragons, but not quite like you. To think I'd ever see one? I wouldn't have believed it."

"Oh. Are you a human?"

"Yes. Why?" Kasen said after a slight pause.

"You aren't afraid of me?"

"No…? Why should I be?" Kasen was very confused by the questions. "I have a pet dragon, you know. It's very young, but intelligent. I can't imagine you being any more fearsome than it."

Now, Myrrh seemed to be… angry? "A _pet_ dragon? How could you even do that?!"

Kasen and Reimu both were taken aback by Myrrh's outburst.

"Dragons are monsters, but we think too! Would you have a human for a pet? Would you have _me_ as a pet?"

Kasen shook her head, slowly. "Koutei is young, and acts like a wild animal, tamed. It isn't mature enough to actually be divine yet. If it were, I wouldn't be able to control it."

Myrrh looked disgusted. She got out of her seated position and walked up to Kasen, glaring.

"What makes you think you can do that? ' _Control_ ' a dragon? Is it a slave to you?"

"Well, it - "

"Let me tell you something about controlling dragons. After my parents died, another Manakete named Morva adopted me as his daughter. I loved him, and he loved me. But there was a war that I had to fight in, and so did he. He was - he was killed by the other side and then reanimated using dark magic as a zombie dragon, as a slave!" Myrrh was starting to cry as she yelled at Kasen, as loudly as she could. "They _killed_ my dad, and used him like a tool after he died! And guess who had to fight him?

"It was me! I had to fight my own dead father! How's that for controlling dragons?"

Myrrh, now completely sobbing and red in the face, gave a glance to Reimu and then ran out of the shrine, head in her hands.

Kasen looked extremely guilty, and Reimu had a shocked expression. Neither knew what they should do.

"Umm… I think I should talk to her," Reimu said, before rushing after Myrrh.

Kasen was left staring at the exit, realizing she had made a mistake, a lapse in judgement.

* * *

The Great Dragon was nowhere to be found.

Reimu had searched in an area around the shrine, but found no trace of the Manakete. She couldn't be allowed to wander; she didn't have a spell card yet, after all, even if she was a youkai. She could either be hurt by some malevolent being, or she herself could cause damage somewhere. None of the possibilities sounded good to Reimu.

Therefore, Reimu was in a slight state of panic. The young dragon had to be found, but her location was a mystery.

Reimu, with no other options, retreated to the Hakurei Shrine. Kasen was no longer there.

Dragons, she thought, are incredibly powerful beings. More powerful than any vampire, any tengu, any oni. Dragons are on a level of existence equivalent to gods as bringers of wisdom, but also representative of strength. Even one as clueless of herself as Myrrh could have such power. That was precisely what made the situation delicate; she didn't know what she was capable of in this new world to her. Reimu had a foreboding sense of dread.

"Let's see… I've been in this situation before, right?"

Reimu was pacing the floor of her home, a hand on her chin in a contemplative pose.

"With Kosuzu. But she just came to us in the end, so that's not helpful."

She sat down on the floor and closed her eyes in concentration.

"...Wait. Didn't Mamizou send her tanuki to look for Kosuzu? And Aya published her picture in the…! That's it!"

Reimu jolted out of her position, and flew out the door in the direction of Youkai Mountain.

* * *

There was a knock at the door.

"Scram! I'm editing, I need to concentrate!"

The knocks became louder.

"For the love of…! This is the fourth time you've interrupted me _this month_ , Momiji!"

The writer of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, Aya Shameimaru, sighed and pushed herself away from the desk. She stormed over to the door and practically ripped it open.

Momiji looked at Aya, unamused, and rolled her eyes. "I only interrupt you on Lord Tenma's orders. If you want to take your complaints to him, you can be my guest."

"Then what is it this time?"

"You have a guest. She was rather adamant about seeing you."

Aya sighed. "Whatever. Bring her in, lapdog."

Momiji snarled. "Don't call me that, birdbrain."

"Not doing yourself any favors when you're as blindly loyal as any hound. And that sound you just made!"

The guest cleared their throat, and Momiji almost dutifully stepped aside, all the while glaring at Aya.

"Aya, I have an urgent request for you." The Hakurei shrine maiden filled the space Momiji just stood, unfazed by the near-shouting match.

"...Ah! Reimu. What a pleasant surprise."

"Let's skip the formalities. I need you to publish a missing persons segment in your rag."

"'Rag'?! Bunbunmaru is - "

"I did say 'urgent', right?"

Aya crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine."

"Myrrh has gone missing and I can't find her. She needs to be located as soon as possible. Who knows what could happen to her… or what she could do. Hopefully your information network can help me out."

"Myrrh, the dragon girl? Already?"

"Yes. Kasen angered her, and she ran off in a fit of tears after yelling at the nag."

"That meek girl, yelling at Kasen? What about? Can I have a few details?"

"Not important! Are you going to help me, or what?" Reimu was quickly becoming more and more annoyed with the tengu reporter.

"I could _never_ say no to you, Reimu."

"Good. I'll ignore the sarcasm."

Reimu turned around and took off.

Momiji started snickering. "I like that Reimu. She knows exactly how you need to be spoken to."

"Shut up, Momiji. You heard her; I have an important job to do."

* * *

The Manakete stumbled through the bamboo thicket, having lost all sense of direction.

Her tears were dried, and her movements were slowing. She was no longer running on emotion, and was now in a state of having enough sense to realize she had gotten herself hopelessly lost.

"I haven't snapped like that in…" She didn't continue to speak the thought. "This place is starting to get to me..."

Myrrh was doing her best to handle the stress of being transported to an unfamiliar world, but released it all at once. Now, without a hint as to where she was and nothing to help her, she realized her mistake.

She could tell the sky was darkening, and that did not bode well for her. Who knew what sorts of evil creatures lurked in this dense jungle of bamboo stalks?

Shadows were starting to cover the ground, leaving the long, thin shadows of bamboo reaching far across the earth in neat, parallel lines. To Myrrh, they seemed like prison bars.

She thought about what sorts of monsters she might run into in this natural labyrinth.

It was as if this very thought had actually summoned one, when she heard the slightest rustle of movement.

She swiftly turned to the source of the sound. Gripping her dragonstone, she inched closer to where she thought it came from.

There was nothing.

Another rustle from behind, and Myrrh again turned. She was fast enough to catch a streak of black and red rush away, but could not find it again.

More uneasy, she started backing away from the sound instead.

She felt something brush against her wing, and caught a glimpse of a long, red nail out of the corner of her eye.

Without thinking, Myrrh fully drew upon the power of Dragonstone, metamorphosing into a tremendous golden reptile.

Her stalker, previously rustling the bamboo with their movements, became noticeably silent, evidently ground to a halt.

Myrrh, the Great Dragon, bellowed a heaving challenge that echoed throughout the forest, shaking the very earth.


	2. Chapter 2

As if an earthquake had hit the bamboo forest, it seemed as though the earth shook.

There was no actual earthquake, of course. There was only a massive dragon, and the bellowing war cry it released at its target.

A girl in red, white, and black, once stalking the dragon, eluding its sight before the transformation and frozen in place afterwards, stood in silence even after the holler had ended. Even as the dragon stared down at her, she was transfixed on it.

After a staring match, the dragon opened its massive jaws, and the target attempted to flee. A quick swipe of the dragon's claw sent it flying into a bamboo shoot before it could go anywhere, though.

The figure rose after being flung a decent distance, with a genuinely terrified look on its face.

The dragon opened its mouth again. It spoke, its voice that of a young girl, albeit distorted and unnaturally slow.

" _GO AWAY._ _BEFORE I HURT YOU. RUN!_ "

After a moment of consideration, the stalker scampered off.

Satisfied that the pursuant was gone, the dragon glowed before shifting into a humanoid form, with the wings still sprouting from its back.

It was Myrrh, and despite being in a very intense situation, she looked pleased.

"I'm glad people aren't so stubborn here. I remember when I tried to be merciful in the war, and most of the time the enemies fought me anyways…"

Furthermore, she noticed that no power was drained from her Dragonstone. Apparently, the woman from earlier was not lying.

Myrrh shook her head. After running into this gargantuan thicket of a bamboo forest without thinking, she was still veritably lost.

She had just begun to wander again when she found herself confronted with two people. The first was a short girl with blonde hair, a brown cap, and orange and yellow clothes. She held multiple round white balls in one of her hands. The other was taller, dressed in a light blue dress and had darker blue hair. She held a giant mallet that had uncanny stains on it. Both had red eyes, and curiously, rabbit-like ears.

"Well, I thought I heard a big roar, but it's just a little girl," the blonde one remarked.

The blue-haired one shook her head. "Watch yourself. We always need to be on our toes."

"We aren't exactly ready for battle here, y'know. You could relax a bit." The blonde shrugged and popped one of the white balls into her mouth.

The other saw this and turned to her in anger. "You aren't, maybe! But I am; I'm always ready. That's what it meant to be on the infiltration team of Eagle Ravi."

"We aren't in Eagle Ravi anymore, nimrod. We don't have to do anything that we were forced to do."

"As if you didn't have one of the cushiest positions in the military! You have no right to complain!"

"Um… hello?" Myrrh had been trying to interrupt their bickering, but didn't want to be rude.

"Oh." The blue one faced Myrrh again. "Yeah. Was it you that made that yell?"

Myrrh decided to be truthful, and nodded wordlessly.

"That was ridiculously loud. Can you not do that again, please? It scared off one of our mochi customers."

Myrrh hadn't understood any of their previous conversation, so she decided to ask about what the elephant in the room was, to her.

"Uh, you both have rabbit ears. But the rest of you looks human."

"Never seen a moon rabbit before, huh? Well, I'm Ringo, and this is Seiran," the blonde one introduced the both of them.

"We just sell mochi around these parts," she continued. "Surprisingly good business, really, considering the, ah, environment. Pretty confusing, navigating this big tangle of plants."

"Who are you?" The blue-haired one, Seiran, asked.

"I'm Myrrh. A manakete. Can you help me out of here?"

Ringo, seemingly a bit more easygoing, laughed. "Ahaha… Y'know, we're still preeeetty new here. We don't actually know our way around too well. We might be able to get you to Eientei from here, though. You've managed to get pretty close to it on your own, actually. Good for you."

Seiran pointed her mallet at Myrrh. "As long as you promise not to attack us. If you do, we'll tag team you, and kick your rear end. How's that sound?"

Myrrh shook her head, unamused. "Uh, sure. I promise I won't try to fight you. I don't like the thought of it much myself."

Seiran nodded. "Sounds good. Follow closely, I don't want you getting separated from us. We can't afford to spend a whole lot of time helping you, because we need to get back to business, y'know."

"Hold on."

A new voice came from somewhere.

"It doesn't take a rabbit's ears to have heard _that_. What in the world is going on here?"

A slender woman approached Myrrh, with ivory hair and a plain white shirt. She had baggy red pants with talismans on them, as well.

She glanced over the trio of Myrrh, Seiran, and Ringo, sizing them all up.

"Moon rabbits." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why don't you scurry back to Eientei? _I_ am the guide of this forest. Although it's pretty obvious this isn't any regular lost child we have here." The woman, who seemed to have a rather rough personality, looked to Myrrh.

Taking the cue, the Manakete responded. "I'm Myrrh. I'm a dragon, that normally takes a human form. Which makes me a Manakete. They already know," she said, pointing to the rabbits.

"Whatever. Not really that important, whatever you are. Seems like you're lost, though?"

"Yeah…"

The white-haired woman snorted. "Why don't you just fly over the bamboo with those wings of yours? Should be pretty easy for you to find your way out."

"Well, I'm not very good about heights. Oh, and I was getting chased by someone that was wearing black, white, and red, and I scared them off."

"Pfft! You can fly and you're scared of heights? What an interesting fellow you are. And the roar I heard was you scaring that person off, I take it?"

Myrrh nodded. Something about this woman seemed off to her. She wasn't really being friendly, but she wasn't exactly rude, either. She also seemed to walk a balance between logic and emotion when she spoke, and she had a very casual posture but somehow seemed stiff. She was clearly acting indifferent. It was almost as if she was bored by the situation, which was opposite of everyone else's reactions to her. It was somewhat of a breath of fresh air for Myrrh.

"So you've got _some_ guts to you, then. Well, that's good. I'm not one to get along with cowards. Speaking of me, I should probably introduce myself to you, little dragon. I'm Fujiwara no Mokou. Guide of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, yakitori grill owner, victim of Hourai." Mokou held out a hand to the moon rabbits, who seemed to recognize her, and started waving it at them, motioning for them to scram. They seemed surprised and maybe a little in awe, but obliged.

"Pfah. Moon rabbits are so pointlessly obedient. They need to learn how to grow a pair and think for themselves, you know?"

Myrrh didn't really follow, so she tentatively nodded. The woman still had that strange aura to her.

"Quiet, aren't you? Well, suits me. I'm being a lot more chatty than usual, myself. But if you really need me to lead you out of the forest, it'll be a bit of a walk. I hope you don't get bored out of your mind. Well, follow me."

Mokou began walking in a seemingly arbitrary direction and Myrrh scrambled to follow.

* * *

Reimu was flying around Gensokyo, looking for anyone who had seen a purple-haired girl with dragon wings.

Nobody had at the Moriya Shrine, nor at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, nor at the Human Village, nor at the Myouren Temple.

Now, Reimu was figuring she was going to have to go to places that she didn't really want to. The Underground, with its legions of nasty, aggressive youkai, Hakugyokurou, which was just really far out of the way, and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, which was so ridiculously labyrinthine and confusing that one would have better luck looking for a single particular grain of sand on a beach than someone lost in there. There was also technically Senkai, Miko's weird hermit world, but she thought that was more than unlikely.

She didn't really want to have to wait for Aya to publish that missing notice in the newspaper, so she needed more immediate action. She needed other people to help her search.

For that reason, she found herself again at the Myouren Temple.

She knew one of its residents excelled at finding things, but also that it would require some convincing to actually get that help.

Landing in front of the place, she ignored the yamabiko Kyouko's greeting and hurried up to the temple proper.

After a few minutes of searching, she found the first person she was looking for off in a side courtyard, presumably doing some sort of Buddhist training, even though it was darkening outside; Reimu didn't really know or care what it was.

Byakuren Hijiri immediately sensed the shrine maiden's presence and stopped what she was doing.

"Ah, Reimu. Back again already? Need something?" the monk asked.

"You know that girl I was looking for earlier, with the dragon wings? I need the help of one of your followers to find her."

"I think I know where this is going. You want Nazrin, correct? She is excellent at locating things. Normally, it's treasures and the like, but she does have a mouse network she could probably use to help."

Reimu nodded in relief that she wouldn't have to explain. "Yeah, you got it. Doesn't she work for Shou or something, though? I figured I'd have to ask you to get Shou, and then she'd have to call Nazrin."

"That is true. She prides herself on working for Bishamonten, but she isn't actually all that involved in matters relating to the Temple." Byakuren paused for a few seconds as she thought. "As you say, you will probably have to speak with Shou in order to get Nazrin's help. But Nazrin ultimately serves her, so if you just convince the master, the servant will be obliged to help." Byakuren smiled, hinting. "Shou has a generous heart, so you shouldn't have any problems."

"Well, where is she? I don't have all day, you know."

"She went into the Human Village, to speak with the humans who worship here, but she'll probably be returning sometime soon as night falls. As for Nazrin, I do not know. She can sometimes be found at Muenzuka, but that is just a possibility."

Reimu nodded. She could just barely be heard by Byakuren when she said "Thanks," as she sped off.

* * *

"Who are you?" Myrrh asked.

"Not really important. I'm just a loner who lives in this forest. I lead people out when they get lost. It's how I give back to this world, I guess. I normally only deal with humans, but meeting a youkai like you every once in awhile is an inevitability."

"Well, you did say it would be a long walk. Maybe you can tell me more about you, to fill the time?" Myrrh really was just curious about the residents of this new world, but did not want to come off as pushy. This one especially intrigued her because of that strange feeling she gave off.

Mokou sighed. "I don't really enjoy talking about myself."

Myrrh decided to keep prodding. Shy as she was and despite being a bit of a loner back in Magvel, she did still have allies - Saleh and the people of Caer Pelyn, and of course the other Manaketes in the Darkling Woods. More recently, Ephraim and Eirika joined that list. Now, though, she hadn't known anyone more than a day. She figured she would have to get some friends while she was here, in case anything got too dangerous.

So, she went further. "Please? This walk is pretty boring, isn't it? Maybe I can tell you about me, too."

"I don't need or want your life story, kid. Not many people will, so get that through your head."

"I'm not a kid, you know…"

Mokou gave a questioning glance to the Manakete. "Oh, really? You look it. Can't be older than _me_ , though."

Myrrh gave out an obviously exaggerated huff and responded, "A bit over 1200. But you look like you're in your mid thirties at oldest."

"Now you hold on! I do not look thirty!" the white haired woman retorted. "I think about eighteen to twenty is much more accurate."

"And how old are you actually?"

"Over 1300. I can't remember the exact number anymore, though. Things like that have lost meaning to me."

Myrrh was taken aback. "Y-you're even older than me!"

"Told you I've been around longer."

Myrrh decided to take her chance and get Mokou to talk about herself. "How'd that happen? People don't just stop aging. I age very slowly, but something tells me it's different for you."

"Nice try, little dragon, but I see right through your meaning. You still want me to talk about myself. But if you're gonna be so annoying about it, I guess I'll have to humor you.

"Actually, maybe you can relate to me a bit. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes, and I can rest easy knowing I've done some good today. Or maybe it's too late for you. Doesn't bother me one bit."

Myrrh internally congratulated herself. That was way out of her comfort zone, even socializing with a single stranger, and she actually got this stubborn "Mokou" to speak with her? Incredible, for her.

Of course, Mokou didn't exactly have much of a social game herself, but Myrrh didn't know that they were both in the same hole.

The guide cleared her throat. "I'm immortal now. When everyone I know is dead and gone, as well as their children, and their children's children, all the way down, I'll still be here. When humanity itself is wiped off the face of the Earth, I'll still be here."

This comment got Myrrh thinking. "You said you were a 'loner'. I'm kind of one, myself - I've lived nearly alone in a forest for as long as I can remember. Is it because you don't want to care about people and then watch them all die? I've had to think about that myself, recently…"

Mokou didn't immediately respond. She then shook her head.

"No, I just don't really get along with people. Anyways, my immortality. It's all thanks to one arrogant woman, Kaguya. I'd be dead and much happier for it, if she didn't cause my father's death and the humiliation of my family."

"She killed your father?" Myrrh asked, starting to think that this woman may have more than a few similarities to herself. "What happened?"

"Long story short, my father had the hots for her and wanted to marry her. She told him to bring her a treasure and she'd agree to it, knowing that it would be impossible to do. He died trying, and she just laughed when she was told about it. Needless to say, I was more than a little pissed when I saw that. I wanted revenge and stole the Hourai Elixir that gives immortality, because she was gonna fly up to the moon.

"Not proud of how I obtained the Elixir. I deceived and betrayed a kind man, Iwakasa, who was trying to destroy it by throwing it in a volcano. Snatched it from him and pushed him right down the mountain to his death, so he couldn't stop me. Turns out he had the right idea, though. That thing is a _curse_.

"So, I rushed to find Kaguya. Thing is, I didn't actually catch her in time. She up and vanished not long after she caused my father and some other men to die, you see.

"So I just existed for hundreds of years, yearning only for revenge on Kaguya but unable to have it. As time grew on and I still did not find her, I realized my mistake. My life lost all meaning when I started thinking she was just gone, and I'd never get my revenge. Started trying to kill myself after that epiphany. No matter what I did, I just came back, good as new, though. It sucked. I hated my stupid action of drinking the elixir, I hated my situation, I hated myself. I couldn't end it, no matter what I tried. So you know what I did?"

Mokou stopped walking and just turned expectantly to Myrrh. The Manakete was surprised by the past of Mokou and was thinking about how she could have gone down the same road, or might still in the future. She had the same set-up, after all, with a long life, her parents dying, and then Morva's recent death…

She didn't answer, and Mokou grunted.

"Well, I kept trying to kill myself. But, like I said, it never worked. I just can't die and stay dead. I can feel pain, though. So, I started doing only the most painful suicide method, to remind myself that I was stupid.

"What always hurt the most was burning. Stabbing yourself, poison, hanging, falls? Those can be pretty quick. Burning lasts a long time, and every moment of it hurts, if you do it right. You start with small fires on the fringes of your body, and it slowly crawls up to the rest of you. Every breath you take hurts because of the smoke. Hours of pain later, it's gotten to your heart, and you've truly died. That's what I did to myself very often, for about a hundred years, I guess.

"Well, it turns out that after burning myself to death for so long, I started becoming resistant to it. It still hurt, but not as much. And one day, it didn't kill me. Despite happening centuries ago, I remember that day crystal clear."

Mokou looked wistfully at the ground, and then locked eyes with Myrrh. She raised both of her arms, and they spontaneously burst into flames. Myrrh, panicked at the sudden fire on her guide, moved to try and help her put them out. She stopped, however, when Mokou shook her head and put the flames out.

"I figured out that I had somehow started to be able to control fire. Don't know how it works, but it's a part of me. It initially was terrible. I had burnt myself to death thousands of times, like a ritual, because I deserved it. And I couldn't do it anymore? Oof. Not what I wanted to hear. But then, I realized its other uses. Fire itself became a purpose for me. I still use it for grilling today.

"Back to my life story. One day, wandering, I just so happened to stumble upon Kaguya. She was bathing in a pond or something like that, I think. I was amazed, but I didn't let that get to me. I took my chance to kill her, and it was the most satisfied I had felt in my whole life. The only thing I wanted anymore was to kill that slimy crone, and now I had the chance to. Since she was immortal, that also meant I got to do it over, and over, and over again. Oh, I loved that. I felt so alive every time I killed her. She started killing me in return, and now it's something we both enjoy.

"When everybody we know is gone and there is nothing left to do anymore… we'll probably still be killing each other. She's like a toy that never gets old and will never get lost or broken, no matter how many times you smash it to little tiny pieces. I'm the same way to her."

"That's so sad… I can't imagine having nothing to do for the rest of my life but kill someone over and over again." Myrrh looked very melancholy at what she perceived to be despair from Mokou.

"Aww, you don't need to pity me. I've gotten over it, mostly. She's given me a new purpose, and I'm finding ways to kill time. I don't try to commit suicide anymore. Of course, I'm still looking to figure out a way to die, but I'm not running my head into a wall over and over again with pointless repeated suicides, you know? As for Kaguya, we've also found a few other ways to settle our feud, that don't involve messy fights to the death. And despite how much I've always hated her, recently…"

Mokou shook her head. "Well, we should probably get going again. Maybe you can tell me about yourself? This is the most I've talked at once in years, and I'm not enjoying how hoarse my voice is now. Wonder how you got me to do this to myself."

* * *

Shou had just gotten finished speaking to an anxious temple-goer, the last person that was waiting in line for the chance, when someone tapped her shoulder from behind.

"Who is it?" She asked in a pleasant tone, before actually turning her head to see who it was.

She was taken aback when the scowling face of Reimu Hakurei looked back at her.

"Ah, Reimu…! How nice to see you. What can I do for you?"

"Enough chitchat. I need Nazrin's help for something, and Byakuren told me to talk to you. It's important, so I think I'll like the answer you're about to give me."

Shou had been on the receiving end of an attack from Reimu before and did not particularly want to experience it again. After all, Reimu's current presence was _oppressive_ over her. Something told Shou she should be very agreeable lest she face Reimu's wrath again, this time with bystanders around.

"Yes, I had given her leave to do whatever she'd like. A day off, really. I don't actually know what she's doing, since it's her free time and all, but I could try to summon her."

Reimu grunted in response. "Just do whatever you think will get her here the fastest. I'm looking for someone."

"So that's it, huh? Need Nazrin to help you find a friend?"

Reimu nodded, still with that scowl on her face. "What are you looking at me for? Didn't I just ask you to summon her?"

Shou smiled despite Reimu getting on her nerves a bit. "I'm an avatar of Bishamonten, whom she serves. Bishamonten will have already heard my request, and may pass it on to Nazrin if he so chooses. We won't be waiting long, if she has received it."

Reimu crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind Shou's seated position. "Alright. I guess I'll wait."

Shou nodded and waited alongside Reimu in hopes Nazrin would come.

* * *

"I come from a place called Magvel. There is a large forest called the Darkling Woods within, and it's where I've always lived."

As it was now Myrrh's turn to explain her story, she talked as she continued to follow Mokou out of the forest. Mokou seemed much more comfortable listening to Myrrh than talking herself.

"A lot of people like me - Manaketes, I mean - live there, as well as a few monsters. We're always keeping the monsters from getting out of hand, but nobody really knows about the Darkling Woods and what's within except for the people that live there."

"Sounds a bit like Gensokyo, actually," Mokou interjected.

Myrrh shrugged, even though Mokou wasn't looking at her to see it. "I don't really know. I guess?

"I'll start at the beginning. Early on in my life, and lasting a while, I didn't really understand humans. I didn't really understand why people from the nearby town, Caer Pelyn, regarded us so highly. Why they called our leader, Morva, the Great Dragon. Why he helped them out when they were _different_ from us.

"About 400 years into my life, so 800 years ago, there was a war. The Demon King Fomortiis was terrorizing the land, and there were a lot of monsters. Much more than normal, and they were everywhere. All of the Manaketes were helping the humans fight the monsters, and we ultimately won. But… in the fighting, both of my parents died, and I was stricken with a terrible depression for a time.

"That was when Morva came to me. I already mentioned that he was the leader of us Manaketes. He had never had any children, so he adopted me, and he helped me through my real parents' death. He was such a kind man."

Mokou, still walking and making haphazard turns through the thicket - at one point, six straight right turns - was silently absorbing everything the Manakete had to say. She didn't make any noticeable reactions that Myrrh could see, so the Manakete decided to just keep talking.

"I'd always been sort of a recluse, but that war changed me. It was then that I took lives for the first time. They were evil monsters, but it still felt wrong to me, somehow. Even still, after the war, I was heralded as a hero who contributed greatly to the defeat of Fomortiis. Just like Morva, the humans of Caer Pelyn started to refer to me as the Great Dragon. It just felt wrong, at first, to be congratulated for bringing death. But I've grown past it. The monsters I fought were undeserving of life in the first place as embodiments of evil.

"Not much happened in my life until just a few months ago, besides meeting Saleh, my first human friend and a protector of sorts. But then, there was another war. In this one, I had to kill people. Not monsters, but actual people. It wasn't often that an enemy soldier tried to capture me, but each time I had to kill them. It was a shock, and I never wanted to, but I had to live with it or die myself. There was one enemy who was kind… her name was Selena. I did not have to fight her… I couldn't have brought myself to.

"The war dragged on, and I made many new friends, like these two siblings, Ephraim and Eirika. There was also a funny little man named Dozla, and other people too. But I also saw many people die, and it saddened me. Then, at the end of the war, I ran into my father, Morva. But he wasn't the same. The enemies… they killed him… and made him into a slave of a corpse. I had to fight him again, my father. I didn't… I couldn't…"

Hearing Myrrh's voice grow to a whimper and then trail off, Mokou stopped and looked back at the dragon girl.

"You okay, little dragon? You don't have to talk about anything that gets you upset on my account, you know." Despite not really letting anything show throughout Myrrh's recounting, Mokou now had a distinctive look of concern on her face.

Myrrh nodded. "...I'm still trying to move past it. And I have to tell you the full story…"

"Alright, if you say so. We had better get a move on, though. It's night outside, and the sooner we get you out of this forest, the better. We're almost there, anyways, so let's get going."

As they continued to move, Myrrh spoke again. "... I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to finish him off. An ally had to step in, Ephraim. I was so weak. So much for the Great Dragon… neither of us were fit for that title anymore, with him dead and me mourning and pathetic…"

Mokou chuckled to herself. "Pathetic? Seems to me like you were doing what anyone would and should do with the death of a loved one. I mean, look at you. You're very functional now, so close to his passing. Were you even listening to my life? You've had three parents killed and you're still very much yourself. When my father died, I flew into a vengeful rage. Now who was pathetic and who was strong?"

Myrrh didn't have anything to say to that. Mokou, despite speaking roughly, was somehow making her feel a little better.

"Well, here we are. Edge of the Bamboo Forest. You can even see the Human Village from here. I've got a friend that lives there that I think you should talk to. Her name's Keine Kamishirasawa, and she has silver hair with blue streaks in it. Ask around and you'll find her, probably; everyone who's been in the village knows her, after all."

Myrrh nodded. "Umm… I think you're pretty nice, Mokou. Do you think we can be friends?"

"That was awkward," Mokou snorted. "But, you know what? I'd say the same about you. I've been making it a bit of a goal to be a bit more friendly, so I'll go ahead and accept. Now go on, head to the Village."

And so Myrrh did.

* * *

Shou shook her head. "I don't believe Nazrin will be coming. Seems like she's stubbornly fully intent on enjoying this day off I've given her. I apologize."

"I thought you said she serves Bishamonten? Shouldn't she be listening to all of your orders?"

"It was also my order for her to enjoy a break. She simply chose the order she was already observing."

Reimu, in response, stomped on the ground. "What am I supposed to do? I was counting on you! Myrrh could be anywhere and we wouldn't know. It's a disaster waiting to happen, is what it is! I have no leads and no good ways of finding her."

Shou sighed. "I don't know, maybe she will just appear somewhere and you just overlooked her by mistake. I cannot help you any further, so I will be returning to the Temple. May you have good fortune in your search."

With that, the tiger youkai walked off, leaving Reimu with no choice but to return to her Shrine.

Shou watched her fly away and shook her head. "Always so adamant. It would be understandable if this were a large-scale incident."

The avatar of Bishamonten continued her walk, now leaving the bounds of the Human Village. Looking at the stars, she closed her eyes in a moment of silent prayer. She earnestly wished for fortune to shine upon the "Myrrh" that Reimu was looking for. After all, Bishamonten was one of the Seven Lucky Gods. This was not something he was incapable of doing, should he feel it a worthy task.

It seemed as if he did deem it so, as Shou noticed a figure on the path before her later on her walk back to the temple.

With a short stature, Shou thought it might be Nazrin returning from wherever she was. However, she quickly realized the silhouettes didn't match up. This person clearly had large wings behind them.

"Who's there?" she called out to the person. She feared it was another short individual with large wings she'd heard about, a Remilia Scarlet. She hadn't met the vampire before, and she was hoping she would never have to; nothing good was ever said about her.

Thankfully, as the figure approached, she determined it to be someone else entirely.

The wings were draconic, and her hair was purple. She responded to Shou's question quietly, saying, "Umm… I'm Myrrh. Who are you?"

Shou stepped back slightly in surprise. She had certainly not expected Bishamonten to answer her petition so clearly, and so soon.

She regained her composure and began, "I am Shou Toramaru, a disciple of Bishamonten. I work for Byakuren Hijiri at the Myouren Temple nearby. Reimu wanted me to look for someone named Myrrh, would that be you…?"

"Umm, probably. I did run off, after all…" The girl looked rather nervous. "Did she want me to come back by force?"

"Ah, she seemed very resolute on trying to find you, but not to that extent."

"Then why are you carrying a spear while looking for me?"

Shou realized that probably did seem a little strange. Of course, there was a very good reason she had a spear on her at almost all times, but Myrrh likely wasn't acquainted with it. "I never use this as a weapon. It is just a symbol of Bishamonten, along with the pagoda in my other hand. I was visiting the Human Village, so I had to look the part of a representative. I was just walking back to the Temple from there, actually. I didn't think I was going to find you so unexpectedly."

Myrrh seemed to relax a little at this, but still seemed tense on the whole.

"Well, night has fallen," Shou remarked, hoping to ease that tension, "so how about I lead you to the Temple? The Human Village may not be immediately friendly to you, because you clearly aren't a human. You will be welcomed at the Temple, however. Once you've gotten some rest, I can bring you to Reimu in the morning, but you look exhausted right now."

The Manakete seemed to consider this, and then nodded slowly.

Shou smiled as good-naturedly as she could and motioned for Myrrh to follow.

* * *

Myrrh was impressed by the scope of the Myouren Temple and its grounds. As it was nighttime, however, she did not see anyone about.

Shou led her through the area to a small courtyard, where there was a lone woman sitting with her eyes closed.

As they approached, the woman's eyes fluttered open, and she turned to see who it was.

"Ah, you're back, Shou. I trust it went well?" she asked.

"There were more in line today than normal, but there didn't seem to be any particular overall reason for that. It likely means that we have gained followers, I think."

"Thank you. And who's this? A new disciple?"

Shou shook her head, and Myrrh did the same in suit. "No, this is the girl Reimu was looking for, Myrrh. I happened to come across her while walking back here. But since it was already dark and she looked tired, I figured I'd bring her here to rest for the night."

The woman seemed slightly surprised, but not overly so. "Excellent work. Shou, if you'd turn in for the night? Tomorrow will be a busy day." Receiving a nod from Shou and watching her leave, she continued. "As for you, Myrrh… I simply have a few questions, and then I'll show you to a place to sleep."

Myrrh nodded. This woman seemed kind to her. She had a graceful air about her, and she spoke softly but composedly. She seemed larger-than-life.

"I am Byakuren Hijiri, a buddhist nun, and I run this place of worship. And I already know your name. First off, I'd like to know what kind of youkai you are. I imagine you've already been asked this, but I am unaware myself."

Myrrh responded that she was a Manakete, as she had before.

"I see. I consider myself to be something of an expert on youkai, but that is not something I've ever heard of."

Myrrh thought for a moment, before saying, "How about you? And Shou, as well."

Byakuren smiled. "We are both youkai, but we act similarly to humans. Shou is a tiger youkai, but she was able to convincingly pass herself off as human for a very long time. I am a magician youkai, but I used to be human. Through the study of a specialized form of black magic, I discarded my humanity. …It went against my personal beliefs, but at the time, it seemed the right path."

"Black magic?" Myrrh shook her head in distaste. "Don't tell me…"

"As I said, I do not presently agree with my past actions. I acted out of greed, then. I no longer think so selfishly, but I am still here to spread the light of dharma and the message of equality because of that black magic. Ultimately, it has given me more time to do good."

"What sorts of good?"

"I yearn for a world in which humans and youkai are in harmony and are seen as equals. I believe Buddhism to be the best method to achieve this, and so I operate the Myouren Temple.

"Now, another question for you, Myrrh. As a youkai, what do you think of humans?"

Myrrh was a little thrown off by the question, but it was easy enough to answer. "I used to stay away from humans, because I couldn't understand why they did the things they did. But, with my adoptive father, I grew to like them. I fought to protect them in two wars, one long ago and one very recently."

"...I see. Are you alright with killing, in that case?"

"I don't like it. But sometimes, it becomes necessary when the enemy is certainly evil, like with demons."

Byakuren closed her eyes in a contemplative manner. "I've met some rather kind demons, you know. Anyone can be reformed, given enough time. I know it to be true of a phantom whose restless spirit caused her to end many lives by capsizing ships. She knew nothing but a desire to drag others down to her own fate of death on the high seas, and one could have certainly called her pure evil. Now, though, she is now one of my most loyal followers and has become a very empathetic individual."

Myrrh didn't have a response to that, She knew that she was right; how could the gargoyles, cyclopes, and mogalls she fought have possibly been dealt with peacefully? This woman clearly did not agree, but she couldn't have known what Myrrh had experienced.

Byakuren opened her eyes again, and stood. "That will be all. Follow me, and I'll show you to a spare room. My apologies if you do not find it to your liking, but we do not consider comfort more important than function."

Myrrh nodded, perplexed by the abrupt ending to the questions. She had imagined more from the nun. "It's quite alright. I'm sure I've slept in much worse conditions than a clean temple like this."


End file.
